Schools Need To Agree On Math Strategy To Boost Student Performance The 74
Schools Need To Agree On Math Strategy To Boost Student Performance The 74
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.Sign up for The 74 Newsletter
Get و stories و like – تفاصيل مهمة
As American students continue to flounder in math, Bellwether, a national nonprofit that seeks to improve opportunities and outcomes for marginalized kids, said schools seeking a turnaround must first establish a clear, shared vision of effective math instruction.
Its recent report“How We Solve America’s Math Crisis: A Systemwide Approach to Evidence-Based Math Learning,” talks about building a teacher and student “math identity” and balancing “conceptual understanding and procedural fluency while creating meaningful opportunities for real-world application.”
The plan must also ensure that learning progresses “logically and cumulatively” to deepen students’ knowledge as they move through the perennially difficult subject over time.
and و to و a – تفاصيل مهمة
“These steps may seem familiar, and that’s because they are widely accepted best practices for developing and sustaining strong instructional design,” the report reads. “However, to be effective, they must be consistently applied over time and throughout the system.”
And that’s where schools have fallen short, Bellwether’s researchers note, despite evidence supporting the approach.
“Data demonstrate that when high-quality materials, intentional instructional practices, and strong teacher support are combined, students’ math proficiency can improve significantly — even in schools starting with very low baseline scores.”
Anson Jackson, senior partner at Bellwether, sat down with The 74’s Jo Napolitano to describe what schools need to do to get on track.
schools و to و with – تفاصيل مهمة
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
What is effective math instruction?
There’s a couple of layers to that. At the baseline, it is leaders, teachers and essential office personnel all understanding what good math instruction looks like. And they are not just focused on outcomes, but on the practices they want to see in math classrooms, the mindsets in math classrooms. There’s a shared understanding of what they believe math instruction looks like.
That then determines how they build their professional development, how they build their training and how they build their assessments. It’s almost like a philosophy on math instruction. Without that philosophy, it’s like whack-a-mole.
math و they و a – تفاصيل مهمة
After they reach this consensus, what then?
You then align on what those systems and structures look like to support that vision for mathematics. If you are focused on hands-on activities, then you want to have systems to train staff on how to develop strong activities to facilitate hands-on learning.
If you believe kids need to show the work and do the math, you need to build in systems that allow kids to show the work and do the math on a regular basis. So that’s the idea: build a philosophy, build a vision, and then build a structure to support that vision throughout the district.
What if you don’t implement a shared vision?
to و the و you – تفاصيل مهمة
When you don’t have that, success is random. Teacher development is random. You’re always changing what is in front of kids or in front of teachers.
When there’s no real shared vision, then the next leader who comes in changes the vision. And, without that shared vision, when you go from grade to grade, students don’t have the coherence of learning, which they need for success in math.
How can schools identify — and adopt — high-quality instructional materials, especially when time and money are tight?
The first thing they need to do is understand the science behind mathematics and math learning. High-quality materials are backed by science and evidence of learning. Secondly, there must be coherence across grade levels — and in grade levels.
and و the و in – تفاصيل مهمة
The curriculum must be aligned. But before I get to the curriculum, I want to understand the key things that we know by science and evidence happen for kids to learn math at a high, high level. That could involve professional development, training, school visits, observations, doing some light research and analysis of what math looks like and coming to these conclusions as a collective — from the superintendent to chief academic officers, principals and teachers.
From there, I would then have them do a gap analysis of what they know works. They should ask, “What in our curriculum is missing or lacking from what we know should be there?” From that gap analysis, hopefully they’ll determine, “Oh, guess what? Light bulb moment: We are missing the mark on the curriculum or the materials.”
the و From و gap – تفاصيل مهمة
After that, they go through an adoption process where they take a look at what’s out there, and make some choices. But it needs to be a shared learning experience and not just that a team is told to adopt something because experts said it’s good. They should really understand why it’s good and what in the curriculum makes it high quality.
Is there a shortcut for cash-strapped schools with little time to do this?
The short answer is yes: There’s lots of resources out there, including lists of high-quality instructional materials that are already vetted and backed by science. You can also use Google or ChatGPT to find them.
However, this is where implementation can fail, without a deep understanding of the curriculum and why it works. A lot of folks, when things get hard, they put it away, right?
of و a و to – تفاصيل مهمة
So, I would say, yes, expert A can tell you the best resource for mathematics teaching and give you a set of resources. And that’s great. But unless they understand the true reasoning behind it and how it connects to learning, teacher practice, and systems, a lot of times it becomes another resource that’s on the shelf in two years.
How do you get teachers to support your approach?
It’s about trying to get them engaged early on in the process, not telling them what to do, but having them learn what to do. I would not try to beat them down, but have them understand what’s working already and what’s missing.
The second piece is that I would want to use a coaching model, side-by-side training and support for teachers — and not use it in a negative way. A lot of times we’ll shift to, “You’re not doing this, you’re a bad teacher,” when it’s actually about a learning continuum, as in, “We’re going to focus on this in year one, year two and year three.”
to و them و not – تفاصيل مهمة
What’s at stake if we don’t improve kids’ math scores?
The data shows a lot of the careers that are high paying usually have math as a core foundation. And the other piece is we know there’s an equity gap in this country when it comes to those who do math well and those who don’t — which leads to career choices, right? We want to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
the و math و to – تفاصيل مهمة
Disclosure: Andrew Rotherham is a co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether who sits onThe 74’s board of directors. He played no role in the reporting or editing of this article.
Did you use this article in your work?
Did و you و use – تفاصيل مهمة
We’d love to hear how The 74’s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.Tell us how
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’); fbq(‘init’, ‘626037510879173’); // 626037510879173 fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);{“@context”:”http://schema.org”,”@type”:”NewsArticle”,”dateCreated”:”2026-01-15T20:51:06+04:00″,”datePublished”:”2026-01-15T20:51:06+04:00″,”dateModified”:”2026-01-15T20:51:06+04:00″,”headline”:”Schools Need to Agree on Math Strategy to Boost Student Performance The 74″,”name”:”Schools Need to Agree on Math Strategy to Boost Student Performance The 74″,”keywords”:[],”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/schools-need-to-agree-on-math-strategy-to-boost-student-performance-the-74/”,”description”:”Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter As American students continue to flounder in math, Bellwether, a national nonprofit that seeks to improve opportun”,”copyrightYear”:”2026″,”articleSection”:”Education”,”articleBody”:”n n Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newslettern n n n nAs American students continue to flounder in math, Bellwether, a national nonprofit that seeks to improve opportunities and outcomes for marginalized kids, said schools seeking a turnaround must first establish a clear, shared vision of effective math instruction.nnnnIts recent reportu201cHow We Solve Americau2019s Math Crisis: A Systemwide Approach to Evidence-Based Math Learning,u201d talks about building a teacher and student u201cmath identityu201d and balancing u201cconceptual understanding and procedural fluency while creating meaningful opportunities for real-world application.u201d nnnnnnnnThe plan must also ensure that learning progresses u201clogically and cumulativelyu201d to deepen studentsu2019 knowledge as they move through the perennially difficult subject over time. nnnnu201cThese steps may seem familiar, and thatu2019s because they are widely accepted best practices for developing and sustaining strong instructional design,u201d the report reads. u201cHowever, to be effective, they must be consistently applied over time and throughout the system.u201dnnnnAnd thatu2019s where schools have fallen short, Bellwetheru2019s researchers note, despite evidence supporting the approach. nnnnu201cData demonstrate that when high-quality materials, intentional instructional practices, and strong teacher support are combined, studentsu2019 math proficiency can improve significantly u2014 even in schools starting with very low baseline scores.u201dnnnnAnson Jackson, senior partner at Bellwether, sat down with The 74u2019s Jo Napolitano to describe what schools need to do to get on track. nnnnThis conversation has been edited for length and clarity. nnnnWhat is effective math instruction? nnnnThereu2019s a couple of layers to that. At the baseline, it is leaders, teachers and essential office personnel all understanding what good math instruction looks like. And they are not just focused on outcomes, but on the practices they want to see in math classrooms, the mindsets in math classrooms. Thereu2019s a shared understanding of what they believe math instruction looks like. That then determines how they build their professional development, how they build their training and how they build their assessments. Itu2019s almost like a philosophy on math instruction. Without that philosophy, itu2019s like whack-a-mole. nnnnAfter they reach this consensus, what then? nnnnYou then align on what those systems and structures look like to support that vision for mathematics. If you are focused on hands-on activities, then you want to have systems to train staff on how to develop strong activities to facilitate hands-on learning. If you believe kids need to show the work and do the math, you need to build in systems that allow kids to show the work and do the math on a regular basis. So thatu2019s the idea: build a philosophy, build a vision, and then build a structure to support that vision throughout the district.nnnnWhat if you donu2019t implement a shared vision? nnnnWhen you donu2019t have that, success is random. Teacher development is random. Youu2019re always changing what is in front of kids or in front of teachers. When thereu2019s no real shared vision, then the next leader who comes in changes the vision. And, without that shared vision, when you go from grade to grade, students donu2019t have the coherence of learning, which they need for success in math.nnnnHow can schools identify u2014 and adopt u2014 high-quality instructional materials, especially when time and money are tight? nnnnThe first thing they need to do is understand the science behind mathematics and math learning. High-quality materials are backed by science and evidence of learning. Secondly, there must be coherence across grade levels u2014 and in grade levels. The curriculum must be aligned. But before I get to the curriculum, I want to understand the key things that we know by science and evidence happen for kids to learn math at a high, high level. That could involve professional development, training, school visits, observations, doing some light research and analysis of what math looks like and coming to these conclusions as a collective u2014 from the superintendent to chief academic officers, principals and teachers.nnnnRelatedWhy Teachers Donu2019t Use the High-Quality Instructional Materials Theyu2019re GivennnnnFrom there, I would then have them do a gap analysis of what they know works. They should ask, u201cWhat in our curriculum is missing or lacking from what we know should be there?u201d From that gap analysis, hopefully theyu2019ll determine, u201cOh, guess what? Light bulb moment: We are missing the mark on the curriculum or the materials.u201dnnnnAfter that, they go through an adoption process where they take a look at whatu2019s out there, and make some choices. But it needs to be a shared learning experience and not just that a team is told to adopt something because experts said itu2019s good. They should really understand why itu2019s good and what in the curriculum makes it high quality.nnnnIs there a shortcut for cash-strapped schools with little time to do this? nnnnThe short answer is yes: Thereu2019s lots of resources out there, including lists of high-quality instructional materials that are already vetted and backed by science. You can also use Google or ChatGPT to find them. However, this is where implementation can fail, without a deep understanding of the curriculum and why it works. A lot of folks, when things get hard, they put it away, right? nnnnSo, I would say, yes, expert A can tell you the best resource for mathematics teaching andu00a0give you a set of resources. And thatu2019s great. But unless they understand the true reasoning behind it and how it connects to learning, teacher practice, and systems, a lot of times it becomes another resource thatu2019s on the shelf in two years.nnnnHow do you get teachers to support your approach? nnnnItu2019s about trying to get them engaged early on in the process, not telling them what to do, but having them learn what to do. I would not try to beat them down, but have them understand whatu2019s working already and whatu2019s missing. nnnnThe second piece is that I would want to use a coaching model, side-by-side training and support for teachers u2014 and not use it in a negative way. A lot of times weu2019ll shift to, u201cYouu2019re not doing this, youu2019re a bad teacher,u201d when itu2019s actually more about a learning continuum, as in, u201cWeu2019re going to focus on this in year one, year two and year three.u201dnnnnRelatedNew Gallup Poll: Many American Adults Wish They Had Math SkillsnnnnWhatu2019s at stake if we donu2019t improve kidsu2019 math scores?nnnnThe data shows a lot of the careers that are high paying usually have math as a core foundation. And the other piece is we know thereu2019s an equity gap in this country when it comes to those who do math well and those who donu2019t u2014 which leads to career choices, right? We want to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots.nnnnDisclosure: Andrew Rotherham is a co-founder and senior partner at Bellwether who sits on The 74u2019s board of directors. He played no role in the reporting or editing of this article.nn n n n Did you use this article in your work?
nWeu2019d love to hear how The 74u2019s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us hown n n !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;n t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,n document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);n fbq(‘init’, ‘626037510879173’); // 626037510879173n fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);n rnrnrnrnrnDisclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification. rnWe do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.rnrnrnrnrnrnAuthor: Jo NapolitanornPublished on: 2026-01-15 19:30:00rnSource: www.the74million.orgrnrn”,”publisher”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”,”@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”uaetodaynews”,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images-e1759081190269.png”},”sameAs”:[“https://www.facebook.com/uaetodaynewscom”,”https://www.pinterest.com/uaetodaynews/”,”https://www.instagram.com/uaetoday_news_com/”]},”sourceOrganization”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”},”copyrightHolder”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”},”mainEntityOfPage”:{“@type”:”WebPage”,”@id”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/schools-need-to-agree-on-math-strategy-to-boost-student-performance-the-74/”,”breadcrumb”:{“@id”:”#Breadcrumb”}},”author”:{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”uaetodaynews”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/author/arabsongmedia-net/”},”image”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/anson-jackson-interview-825×495.jpg”,”width”:1200,”height”:495}}
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
Author: uaetodaynews
Published on: 2026-01-15 18:51:00
Source: uaetodaynews.com
